Among Others by Jo Walton

I was oh so looking forward to this read. Maybe I had too many expectations?

I managed to get through about half of it before I stopped and looked up some reviews to see if I was missing something. Maybe that's cheating? I don't know, but I am glad I checked the reviews. It seems like you either love this book for its homage to classic science fiction and the good ol' interlibrary loan days at the library before e-readers came onto the scene...OR...you found this book to be slow and rambling without a substantial over-arching plot. I definitely fall into the latter group.

I found myself getting frustrated with Morwenna and her constant reviews and discussions on various Science Fiction books she had read. I like to think I have read several of the "classic" SF stories (not all of which I have gotten around to put up on my Goodreads), but I haven't read as many as Morwenna read...so I didn't get all the references she made and the questions she asked about them. It just got to be tedious.

I also found myself wanting Walton to explore the fantastical elements a little bit more. I understand that a major "charm" of this story is the fact that it is so "normal" - it definitely reads like a boring journal from any early to mid-teenage girl...but, I wanted to know more about the fantastical, the fairies, the witch[es], etc. There was too much allusion for my tastes, I think.

I guess my main issue is that I had set up in my mind what the story would be like...and then it turned out to be way more mundane than I would ever have imagined.

I hate to say it...but this one will earn a spot on my Lemmed It shelf.

[read Jul. 2013]

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